Sleepless Nights
by MutantGirl95
Summary: Jen lay in bed, staring at the ceiling in the sewers. "Argh! Why is it so difficult to fall asleep?" What's a turtle girl to do when she is bored out of her mind because she can't sleep?
1. Why Can't I Sleep?

Jen lay in bed, staring at the ceiling in the sewers. Why did she have a harder time falling asleep than her siblings? Every night was the same, toss, turn, and toss again. Always awake until dawn, then nodding off during training the next day. "Argh! Why is it so difficult to fall asleep?" She turned to look at her younger sister; she was able to fall asleep with no problem what so ever. "Rebecca doesn't have any problems, it's not fair!" She turned over again and looked at her brother and cousins, they too were sound asleep. "Why me? Why is it only me who is unable to fall asleep at a decent hour?" Jen sighed; she was talking to herself again. What's a turtle girl to do when she is bored out of her mind because she can't sleep? "Maybe if I get a drink of water, it will help me to fall asleep." She figured that it probably wouldn't work, but it was worth a try.

It took her a while to get to the kitchen, being paranoid that her Papa, or Grandfather might hear her before she reached her goal. Finally, she made it to the fridge. 'If Papa knew I was up and able to sneak past him, well first of all he would be mad that I was up, but I think he would be impressed. I mean almost nobody can sneak past him except Grandpa Splinter.' she thought. She was just about to get the water when the kitchen light turned on. "Eep!" She spun around to see an unhappy turtle with a sky blue mask staring back at her. "Jen, what are you doing up? It's after midnight." "Oh, um, hi Papa. Ya see, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to get some water." 'Oops, guess I didn't do as good a job as I thought.' Leonardo looked at the young turtle in front of him; she had dark circles under her eyes which made her look older than her ten years. "How long have you had trouble sleeping?" Jen didn't answer; 'Great, he knows something's up, can't get one past you Papa,' she just stared at the floor. "Jen?" Jen sighed, "I guess about two weeks." "Why didn't you tell me?" "Well, I don't really know. I just thought it would stop, but it didn't." Leonardo looked at her with soft, concerned eyes, 'So this is why she has been dozing off during the day. I was starting to get worried that she might be coming down with something,' he thought.

"Well let's get you back to bed." Leonardo took her by the hand and led her back to the room she shared with her siblings and cousins. Jen just sighed. Leo looked into the dark room; some of the kids had their own beds, while some shared. 'This room is looking cramped, maybe it's time she had her own room. After all she is ten.' "Ok sweetheart, into bed. I love you." Jen smiled, she liked when Papa called her that. "Ok, good night Papa. Love you too." Leo sat by her bed until he was sure she was asleep, and then he picked up her alarm clock and turned the alarm off. She needs the extra sleep. Tomorrow I will talk with Master Splinter and Robin about giving Jen her own room. He quietly left the room and closed the door.


	2. Awake Again (Ugh!)

When Leo went back to his own room his wife, Robin, was awake waiting for him. "Who was in the kitchen Leo?" "It was Jen, she got up to get some water. I've been thinking, I believe it's time for her to have her own room. She told me that she has been having a hard time falling asleep. What do you think?" "I think you're right. She does need her own room." "Ok, then I'll talk to Master Splinter tomorrow about it."

Jen looked around the room. Wait, what time is it? She looked at the clock, "Oh no, it's only two in the morning. Why me, why is it always me?" She sat up for the second time that night. "It's not like I'm having nightmares, I usually have dreamless sleep." She knew that sleep was no longer an option, so she decided to get up. "Maybe there's something on TV." Sneaking into the living room was easier than last time, since everyone else in the lair was asleep. "Although, knowing Papa, as soon as I turn on the TV he will be in here to see who is up. Oh well, guess we'll find out soon enough."

Leonardo's eyelids twitched,' what was that sound?' Opening his eyes, he listened for the sound to return. "Maybe I was just imagining, wait, there it is again. It sounds like it's coming from the living room." He snuck into the room to find his daughter awake again, watching cartoons. 'What is she doing up again? She was sound asleep when I checked on her an hour ago.' He watched her, sitting there on the couch. He knew she should get back to bed, but he had a feeling she wasn't going back to sleep any time soon.' Should I let her know I'm here, I don't want to startle her.' He pondered this for a moment, and made up his mind. He walked over to the couch, but made some noise so as not to surprise her. "Uh-oh, h-hi Papa, um what are you doing up?" She looked at him with a guilty half smile on her face. "The better question is, what are you doing up_ again_." She was so busted. Papa never gave her that look unless she was in trouble. *Gulp.* "I, um, couldn't sleep again, so I decided to watch some cartoons?" Her answer sounded more like a question than a statement. The look on his face said it all; she needed to get back to bed _now_.


	3. No More Sleepless Nights (yay!)

A/N: Here is the last chapter of Sleepless Nights. ;n; Sad it's over. I really enjoyed this story! I hope you did too.

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Later that same day, after speaking with Splinter (who agreed whole-heartedly), he decided to ask Jen herself. He knocked on the bedroom door gently, he had let her sleep through morning training because he knew she needed the rest, and waited until he heard her invite him in. "Hey Sweetheart, can we talk?" She looked at him unsure. "S-Sure Papa, w-what is it?" She stared up at him expecting to be punished for getting up in the middle of the night _twice_, and for completely sleeping through morning training. "Papa, if this is about me getting up, I want to-"He held up his hand, telling her to wait until after he finished. "Well, this does have to do with you not getting the rest you need, but I'm not punishing you." Jen was confused, why wasn't she being punished? She decided to listen to the rest. "Mother, Grandfather, and I have discussed this and we think it's time you had your own room. Hopefully this will help you with your little problem." Leo smiled when he saw the astonished look on her face. Soon the look of astonishment became a big smile. "Thank you Papa! I can't believe it, my own room!" She jumped into his lap and gave him a big hug.

Soon after that, Leonardo and Jen started to move her things to the room he had picked out for her. Jen was so excited; she couldn't keep the smile off her face. Her siblings and cousins watched wondering what was going on. "Papa, why are you moving Jenny's stuff into that room?" asked Becca, a look of confusion on her face. "Well Sugar pop, Jen is getting older and needs her own space now. The room you all share is just too small for all the turtles in it." Becca was three years younger than Jen, but a bit taller. "But how come you has to leave the room, won't you be scared all by yourself?" asked Gevin, Becca's twin brother. "No, I'm almost eleven years old I'm not afraid." Jen said as she stuck out her chest a little to make herself look tough. Leo chuckled to himself, 'she looks like her Uncle Raph standing like that.' "We'll miss having you in the room Jen," whispered a very sad looking Carlos. Carlos was a little younger than Becca and Gevin, but much taller. Just by looking at him you could tell he was Raphael's kid, but unlike his father he had a gentle, quiet spirit much like his mother. "Hah, He might miss ya, but we won't," laughed Jordan and Cameron. The twin whirlwinds belonged to Michelangelo, of course. They took after their father, and were nicknamed 'Double Trouble'. Anything Mikey did they could do better, and not in a good way. Still they were only three, who knows maybe they'd grow up…..maybe. "Don't listen to them, course all of us will miss having you for a roomie," said Devin. Devin was most of the time like his father, the thoughtful, thinker of the group. He may have only been six-and-a-half, but he was very smart for his age. Course, when he wasn't being thoughtful, he could be just as wild as Double Trouble. Donatello also had another son named Trentyn, but he was only a baby. He wasn't even old enough to sleep with the other kids yet.

After everything was moved into her room, Robin helped her daughter paint it. "This looks great, can't wait to show Papa!" Jen was just hanging a wet paint sign on her closed door; she had just put the finishing touches in her room. "Can't wait to show me what?" Jen spun around in surprise, 'wonder if I'll be able to sneak up on him like that one day,' "Oh, hi Papa, I just finished my room. You want to see?" Leo looked at her proud smile. "Course I do. Is it ok to go in now or should we wait for the paint to dry a little?" "I think it's ok to go in for a little while, we just can't touch the walls." Jen told him to close his eyes, took his hand in hers and led him into the room. "Ok, you can open 'em now." Leo opened his eyes and looked around. Two of the walls were dark purple and the other two were a light blue. Little butterfly wall stickers covered the wall in intricate patterns. "It's beautiful Sweetheart." Jen smiled, she was glad that Papa liked it. Just like her Papa, she hoped this would help with her problem.

A few weeks later, it was evident that having her own room was just what she needed. She was able to fall asleep and stay asleep all night, every night. No longer would she suffer through sleepless nights.


End file.
